Friday, June 03, 2016

The Rupture Began with Reform

I have to take issue with the Reform leader. He was quoted
saying the following in a recent AP story (republished at VIN) about the impediments to an agreed
upon compromise whereby heterodox movements would be able to have their own
space at the Kotel:

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform
Judaism, said the delegation told Netanyahu on Wednesday that this is a “very
serious issue.”

“There is a deep concern, bordering on disbelief, that this
deal may not be implemented,” Jacobs said. He said the group had made clear
that if the deal doesn’t go forward “it will signal a rupture” with North
American Jewry.

Jacobs said the treatment toward his movement is “very
painful.”

“We express our love for the Jewish state every day. The
Jewish state doesn’t return that love,” he said.

There is
not a doubt in my mind that the Jewish State loves all of the Jewish people. Regardless
of what denomination they are a part of. Even if they are a part of the
increasing number of secular Jews that are unaffiliated to the point of not
caring enough to self identify as a Jew.

Not only is this true about the government of Israel, it’s
true about the entirety of Orthodoxy. Including Charedim. It is not Reform Jews
that we reject, God forbid. It is a movement that has made up new rules about
Judaism. Rules that made non observance an acceptable part of its theology. One can
now ‘belong’ to a denomination and
ignore Halacha completely without any guilt. They are free of any burden and believe
that this is what God (if they choose to
believe in Him) is OK with in the 21st century.

Back before there were ‘movements’ in Judaism there were plenty
of Jews that were not observant. But they all recognized what they were
not observing. It was the Judaism of their fathers. The one which is based on
Halacha as dictated to Moshe and handed down generationally until the present
day. Those laws were orally dictated to Moshe and were eventually codified in
the Mishnah, interpreted by the Gemara, commented upon by the Rishonim and eventually
re-codified in the Shulchan Aruch which – along with its commentaries we follow
today.

How one expresses the uniqueness of being Jewish by ignoring
the specific behavior mandated by Halacha - seeing only its ethical value - has
in fact caused the many Reform leaders to backpedal a bit. If one cannot tell
the difference between a Jew and non Jew - since both behave the same way and
share a common sense of ethics - what’s the point of being Jewish? Now Reform
leaders say one should voluntarily observe the Mitzvos. But no big deal if they
don’t.

What denominational Judaism has done is divide the Jewish
people. Instead of being unified by an understanding that the Torah is what makes
us Jewish – what makes us unique as a people, Reform Judaism is a new Judaism. One that believes following Halacha is not mandatory. Today, those Jews that are not observant will likely say,
they are Reform Jews – if they bother identifying as Jews at all!

This is what Orthodoxy objects to. It is the perversion of
what Judaism actually is – and always has been - except for a brief historical period
during the second Temple era and a bit beyond when the Sadducees (Tzedukim) and
a few other minor sects existed. But they have not survived in any significant manner
beyond those days. Since that time and until Abraham Geiger and the advent of Reform
in 19th century - Judaism was defined as requiring observance of Halacha
by all Jews.

It is really too bad that Reform Judaism has done this to
the Jewish people. Once they abandoned Halacha as it has been understood
throughout Jewish history, they felt free to create any method they chose to
serve God. Which brings us back to the approved legislation in the Kenesset that would
give them their own space at the Kotel. They can then practice their own
version of public prayer. Which defies Halacha as it is and has been understood and interpreted throughout the millennia. Until the Reform movement was established.

That said I had believed that the compromise reached in the
Keneset on this issue was a reasonable one. It was far better than continually exacerbating
tensions among the Jewish people. Let them have their space – as long as they
leave the status quo alone - allowing Orthodox
Jews to pray there as they choose – which is in the traditional manner.

So, I was a bit disappointed at the sudden change of heart
by the Charedi parties who originally seemed to look the other way when this compromised
was accepted by the Kenesset. But do not for a minute think that they were not
acting on principle. It is the very creation of a movement – separate and apart
from their ancestors – that is causing the problem.

Without that, all Jews
would understand that it is observant Jews that follow the traditions of their
ancestors that have it right. This is in fact the way many secular Israelis understood it. The joke has always been that the Shul that they do not attend is Orthodox!

They understood that if they wanted to pray to God properly, they would ask the rabbi – who until Reform was always Orthodox. Thus there would never have been this
kind of controversy… and we would all be on the same page about what is and isn’t
authentic in Judaism. Whether we were observant or not.

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About Me

My outlook on Judaism is based mostly on the teachings of my primary Rebbe, Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik from whom I received my rabbinic ordination. It is also based on a search for spiritual truth. Among the various sources that put me on the right path, two great philosophic works stand out: “Halakhic Man” and “Lonely Man of Faith” authored by the pre-eminent Jewish philosopher and theologian, Rabbi, Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Of great significance is Rabbi, Dr. Norman Lamm's conceptualization and models of Torah U’Mada and Dr. Eliezer Berkovits who introduced me to the world of philosophic thought. Among my early influences were two pioneers of American Elementary Torah Chinuch, Rabbis Shmuel Kaufman and Yaakov Levi. The Yeshivos I attended were Yeshivas Telshe for early high school and more significantly, the Hebrew Theological College where for a period of ten years, my Rebbeim included such great Rabbinic figures as Rabbis Mordechai Rogov, Shmaryahu Meltzer, Yaakov Perlow, Herzl Kaplan, and Selig Starr. I also attended Roosevelt University where I received my Bachelor's Degree - majoring in Psychology.